Page 128 of Stolen By the Alpha Hunter
They laugh and clasp hands, then I get to business introducing everyone.
“Javi, this is Reyes, Tilda, and Frankie…Reyes is Prime, Tilda is his mate, and Frankie is our only female alpha here in the Austin Pack.”
Javi reaches a hand out to shake. Frankie just eyes him, refusing to shake his hand—but she’s always a little standoffish.
“She’s like that,” I whisper. “Don’t mind it.”
He nods. “Gotcha.”
After introductions are done, we all sit down and dig into the remaining pancakes at the table. Will joins us as we chat,pulling up a chair next to Arden. It feels like getting back to normal—sitting in the community center with my friends, eating breakfast while birds sing outside. Javi and Boyd talk quietly while I catch Reyes and Tilda up on everything that’s happened, Frankie listening in silence.
“And I understand we have another little wolf joining the pack?” Tilda says, her brows raising.
“Wow,” Javi mutters. “Word travels fast around here.”
“It’s a small community,” I smile, and Reyes laughs.
“We ran into Charlotte on the way through—just stopped by to check on she and Elijah,” he says. “She told us you were expecting.”
“I don’t want to speak too soon,” I say. “It’s still early…don’t jinx it.”
Javi puts a hand on my leg, his thumb grazing my knee. “I’m sure they’ll be okay,” he says.
“I don’t want to trouble you more than I have to, since you’ve been through so much,” Reyes says, “but I did want to talk about what happens next.”
Javi’s grip tenses. I listen carefully, trying to soothe him through the bond. I know that Reyes would never kick him out…right?
Of course, he did steal a member of our pack…
“I want to offer you both a place with our pack, for helping us get Peaches back,” Reyes says, looking from Javi to Boyd. “I know you were responsible for taking her away in the first place, but my understanding was that Gideon was obfuscating the true reason for her departure from the Rig.”
“Well,thatis a million dollar word, preacher man,” Boyd chuckles. “But no…I’m not really the settling down type. Gotta get back on the sea at some point, and there’s no better time than the present—since I just brought down one of the most hated men in the Gulf.”
“His allies will be out there looking for you,” Javi says.
“Eh,” Boyd shrugs. “Life is more fun with a little danger in it.”
I bite my lip, glancing over at Javi.
“And you, Javi?” Reyes asks. “You’ll stay, won’t you?”
My mate smiles down at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I twine my fingers with his as Boyd chuckles.
“Never thought I’d see the day the big guy settled down, but you just keep surprising me,” he says. “Maybe I’ll come back by to visit. No kidnappings this time.”
I glare at him…and I think it might be better if he doesn’t come back at all.
“Well, that’s not all,” Reyes continues. “There’s also the matter of the Gulf Pack—and the fact that you managed to take out their Prime, but that someone else has stepped in to take his place.”
“Let me guess,” I say, unable to keep the venom out of my tone. “Abel.”
Javi growls under his breath, a low rumble that would strike fear into the hearts of any of our enemies.
“That’s right,” Reyes says. “And according to our intel, they’ve decided it’s time for a full-on war against us—with the help of the Heavenly Host.”
My eyes widen and I look over at Javi, but he doesn’t look surprised. “Did you know about this?” I ask.
